Its Khachmaz!

Last week were our site announcements and it was a very exciting, if not nervous, meeting of the TEFLs. One by one our names were announced with our region and we went up to the map to try and figure out where that actual region was. I'm not too good with Azerbaijani geography yet so when Khachmaz was called, I was excited to be called but clueless on where or what I would be going to.

The more I learned the more excited I get. Khachmaz is the northern most region in the first (eastern most) finger. Thus we get some of the most temperate weather throughout the year. The region is ancient and has been densely inhabited since early human history with numerous artifacts and settlement areas left. I will be living in Khachmaz the city, which has a population of about 66K. It is very close to the Caspian and the city enjoys a bit of tourism due to the nice beaches. It is considered a beautiful city by Azeris and there are many parks and fountains in the city.

The school I will be teaching at is one of the largest schools in the region. It is only 3 years old and quite big, about 1200 students and over 100 teachers. There are 16 English teachers and they teach a minimum of 18 hours a week, which is very uncommon for Azerbaijan. Speaking with my counterpart, it sounds like we also have a library and a computer lab. The Azerbaijan teacher organization, Zeta, for Khachmaz is based out of my school, and in fact out of my counterpart's classroom. Also, I'm less than 2 hours away from Baki so if there is anything at all that I need, I can easily take a day trip to Baki and get it.

In general I am excitedly waiting to go there. Obviously I must manage my expectations, everyone is going to a wonderfully fantastic place before they get there, but it sounds like the school has been eagerly awaiting my arrival and the Zeta chapter is very active. In technical training we've been talking a lot about ways to run the classroom and there seems to be an unspoken idealism of effectively transferring western styles of teaching to a hungry and motivated audience.

Speaking with current TEFL volunteers it is confirmed that the teachers we work with are excited for us and passionate about teaching, but they must also work within the constraints that are presented to them. In general a teacher will teach in the morning, rush home to do housework and clean the house, and then tutor children privately, which is where they actually make money. My main goal is to focus on interactive teaching techniques that require little to no setup or preparatory work, believing that these activities and methods will be most readily used when I am gone.